Web site

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Piriform just released a new version of CCleaner - 2.32.1165. As regular users of CCleaner know, there's no internal updater, so you'll need to download the new version, then install it over your current version.

You can read more about CCleaner here: http://www.piriform.com/ccleanerCCleaner is freeware; you do not have to pay to download or use it, but if you do use and like it, the developers would be glad to have a donation via PayPal. If you've landed somewhere that forces you to pay before downloading, get out FAST.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

We've had a short reprieve from constant program updates, so I've been able to chase down some troubleshooting issues. For instance, I couldn't send email over RoadRunner from my iPod, I couldn't send email from my Droid phone unless I was on my RoadRunner network, and I hadn't yet created a connection from my laptop to the Droid, to use it wirelessly outside my own network.

This isn't about how to do those things; rather, it's to tell you how to find the information you need to solve a problem. (If you do want to know how to do any of those things, send me an email.)

When faced with an email problem, the first place to go would logically be the provider's web site - you know, the people you pay for the privilege of using their service. So, off I clicked to the VerizonWireless FAQs page... the Support page... the Contacts page (closed after 11 PM, which is about the time I can check these things out). Not finding any useful information, I went to Google. Remember, your two best friends are CCleaner and Google.

I entered "email configuration Verizon Droid" and immediately had thousands of hits. The important part here is to click on a "good" link, not something that will download trojans to your computer. Look carefully at the web site address the link wants to take you to - if it's Microsoft, or CNet, or some other popular tech site, it's probably safe to click the link.

I found my answer almost immediately, and flush with success, moved on to attempt fixing the email problem on the iPod. Bottom line, your RoadRunner email won't send unless you're on your RoadRunner network, so you'll need a workaround. Incredibly simple when someone who's slaved over the problem just puts it out there and Google picks it up. RoadRuner's web site Help? Not so much.

If you can't put your hands on the owner's manual for something you'd like to use, try searching for the model number plus the word "manual". It's a lot faster than digging around your files (or boxes, in my case) for something you haven't seen it, oh, forever.

Every time the lawn mower needs an adjustment, I open the manual I've saved on my computer, because the one that came with it is "some place safe". (Then, I just call Blazey's, which is why I bought it there in the first place. Like I'm going to adjust something on a lawn mower. But it's nice to know how to fold down the handle without pinching a cable).

Google (and most top search engines) are incredibly powerful and useful. Half the battle is knowing the search words or term to enter, the other half is picking the right link to follow. Go ahead - put something into Google, or Bing, or Yahoo Search and see how much pain and time you save yourself.